What Instagram taught us about the inauguration

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Photos:One in 800,000: Your inauguration photos

One in 800,000: Your inauguration photos – An expensive journey to Washington, a long wait in the cold, shoulder-to-shoulder crowds and intense security. It's not easy or trivial to be one of the 800,000 people in D.C. for President Barack Obama's second inauguration. Who are they, and what compelled those who are attending to be there? CNN iReport and Instagram teamed up to find out.

Texas college student Lyzette Garza (@lyzettegarza) and her best friend traveled to D.C. to be part of the inauguration festivities.

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Photos:One in 800,000: Your inauguration photos

One in 800,000: Your inauguration photos – George Washington University freshmen Marissa Salgado (marissa_salgado), left, and Bethany Thomas (@bethanythomass) were up since 4 a.m. Monday, "because we were so excited about the inauguration and wanted to make sure we had a great view. It paid off! We were as close as you could get without having tickets."

One in 800,000: Your inauguration photos – "This is something I can tell my kids and grandkids about when I get older," said Jamillah Hodge (@2punkins), left, who lives in Carneys Point, New Jersey, and caught a bus with her best friends to D.C. "My favorite moment was when Barack Obama entered the Capitol and said, 'I've missed this place!' Loved It!"

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Photos:One in 800,000: Your inauguration photos

One in 800,000: Your inauguration photos – Lots of young people were in the crowd. This is Chris Ngo (@icraychris), a 14-year-old from South Carolina. He described this day as a "once in a lifetime chance" and said he couldn't be happier to be on the mall Monday.

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Photos:One in 800,000: Your inauguration photos

One in 800,000: Your inauguration photos – "This is history in the making, and I just could not pass up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The crowd felt surreal," said Cameran Tucker (@camtucker25), a junior at Notre Dame High School in West Haven Connecticut.

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Photos:One in 800,000: Your inauguration photos

One in 800,000: Your inauguration photos – Lisa Lee (@rrrlisarrr), left, a diversity program manager at Facebook, said Obama's inauguration was especially meaningful to her. "Like many of our fellow Asian-Americans, we are here to celebrate a president who we've felt is inclusive of our voices and experiences," she said. "[The inauguration] means a renewed sense of promise and commitment to change our society for the better, not just from the president and his administration, but for everyone."

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Photos:One in 800,000: Your inauguration photos

One in 800,000: Your inauguration photos – Becky Primeaux said attending an inauguration was high on her bucket list, and "I am extremely excited to check it off." Primeaux snapped this self-portrait to share the experience with her family in Texas and Louisiana, and uploaded the photo to CNN iReport.

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Photos:One in 800,000: Your inauguration photos

One in 800,000: Your inauguration photos – Gunnery Sgt. Bradley Chrisman was chosen to escort inaugural VIPs onto the platform. "It is such an honor," said his wife, Renee Chrisman (@reneechrisman), who was at home with their children in North Carolina watching the festivities on TV. They caught a glimpse of him standing near the president.

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Photos:One in 800,000: Your inauguration photos

One in 800,000: Your inauguration photos – Lisa Clemans-Cope and her husband, left, brought their two daughters to the inauguration. The family lives in Bethesda, Maryland. They all made signs to bring along that featured issues they want the president to address, including the Affordable Health Care Act, the war in Afghanistan and Medicaid. Clemans-Cope says she wants her children, 4 and 9, to practice exercising their right to free speech. They also bought flags to wave as they stood on the mall. "Every kid has a flag," said Clemans-Cope. "Don't even think about going without a flag."

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Photos:One in 800,000: Your inauguration photos

One in 800,000: Your inauguration photos – When Veronica Brown (@idealista23) and her friends reached the rooftop of 101 Constitution Ave., they were awed at the view and the crowd. She attended the inauguration four years ago, and said the second time around was just as meaningful. "It means so much to me to be able to be here and support President Obama, as a Latina and as a student," she said.

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Photos:One in 800,000: Your inauguration photos

One in 800,000: Your inauguration photos – Canine Companions for Independence, a group that trains dogs for people with disabilities, were among the groups marching in the Inauguration Day parade. "It's an important historical day, and we are delighted to be a part of it," said volunteer Pauline Parry (@paulinejparry), who shared this photo.

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Photos:One in 800,000: Your inauguration photos

One in 800,000: Your inauguration photos – Graduate student Krystal Smith (@krystalshera) attended the inauguration with her mom. This was their second presidential inauguration, and this time, both were chosen as volunteers for the swearing-in ceremony and the inaugural parade. "When I saw that CNN was broadcasting live for the presidential inauguration, I jumped at the chance to take a picture right in front of it," Smith said.

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Photos:One in 800,000: Your inauguration photos

One in 800,000: Your inauguration photos – Photographer and long-time CNN iReporter Neal Piper had a spot in the press box at the inauguration, covering the event for his media company, Living the Dream. He said he and his fiancee were honored to be part of the day's events.

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Story highlights

CNN iReport and Instagram teamed up to see who attended the inauguration and why

"To be part of something that is so patriotic and historic is so exciting," said one iReporter

Washington was a sea of smartphones snapping photos on Monday throughout the pomp and circumstance of Inauguration Day. Between the glamorous gowns, the presidential oath, and the parade of marching bands, it was a day meant to be documented.

But we made a discovery during it all: Just as interesting as the photos themselves were the people taking them.

Back in 2009, the inauguration was a huge deal -- an estimated 1.8 million people packed the National Mall to see America's first African-American president make history. Not surprisingly, CNN iReport saw a record number of contributions that day: nearly 12,000 submissions of "the moment," when President Obama took the oath of office.

This time, things were different. There were fewer attendees -- officials estimated between 800,000 to 900,000 people attended Monday's inauguration. But, more importantly, the social media landscape has dramatically changed in the past four years. So this time around, we invited our audience to document the inauguration through Instagram, the mobile photo-sharing site that was launched in October 2010 and now boasts an impressive 90 million monthly active users.

The call to action was simple -- we invited attendees to take an Instagram shot of themselves during the inaugural festivities, tag the photo #cnn, and share why they made the trek to Washington -- and the end result was fantastic. Between Sunday and Monday, we received more than 10,300 photos and showcased some of the best submissions in a custom interactive. Others uploaded photos to iReport, CNN's global participatory news community.

Together, the photos tell you a story about the people assembled for Obama's second inauguration.

The crowd was diverse, made up of people old and young, black and white. There were families and groups of friends. For some, it was their first inauguration. Others were back to see Obama's inaugural speech a second time. It was cold and sunny, as evidenced by the number of winter hats and sunglasses in the crowd. At least one attendee, though, used her shades to block more than just the sunshine. "I was a total crybaby out there," she wrote.

American flags were the other accessory du jour. "Don't even think about going without a flag," advised iReporter Lisa Clemans-Cope, mother of two young girls. At least one attendee made a point to stand out among the rest -- in a clever homemade "Obama Care Bear" costume.

There were notable attendees in the crowd -- "Glee's" Darren Criss, Rep. Grace Meng, D-New York, and comedian Hal Sparks all joined the Instagram + iReport project -- alongside average citizens. And most everyone was grinning ear to ear, except for one man who documented his frustration with the glitchy Mall television feed.

Finally, there were the stories behind the photos. Renee Chrisman shared a photo of her husband, Gunnery Sgt. Bradley Chrisman, who was chosen to escort inaugural VIPs onto the stage. Renee and their children were glued to the television set at home in North Carolina hoping to see Bradley in action. "We caught a glimpse of him standing to the right of the president," she gushed.

Political science student John White took notes during the ceremony. "I plan on pursuing a career in national politics," he said. "Now that I am beginning to lay out the work for my future career, this inauguration is my first step."